Kay Kay Menon's super-busy career!

By Subhash K. Jha,

Kay Kay Menon had two releases this week. "I get to do comedy in Maan Gaye Mughall-e-Azam. This is an entirely new genre for me. The director Sanjay Chhel comes from Gujarati theatre. I play a Ghazal singer Haldi Hassan with a roving eye…slightly sleazy. Although I sing quite well, I left it to the professional playback singers to sing for me. I'm only an actor."

The last time Kay Kay tried his hand at something comic was in Reema Kagti's Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. "But genres are not relevant. I leave it to the pundits to segregate by genre. I go by what the script requires from me. For me acting is cathartic. It gives me a chance to be and do what I wouldn't in real person. We actors are a blessed lot. Acting gives me a chance to recognize myself. Even the Muslim-phobic army man in Shaurya tapped into a dark part of my consciousness."

Kay Kay admits he isn't bombarded with scripts. "I do my best possible in the given circumstances. My other release this week is Mumbai Meri Jaan where the director Nishikant Kamath presents a collage of stories related to the train bomb blasts in Mumbai. I play a slightly unemployed guy. He can apply himself to work but chooses not to and hangs around with younger boys in an Irani café. It's all very interestingly done."

About not being in Sarkar Raj after being in Sarkar, Kay Kay laughs, "I used to joke about me being a garlanded photograph in Sarkar Raj. That didn't happen. Sarkar was one of my most popular films. I'm quite happy with the work I do. I'm getting to live my life the way I do. I play a lot of outdoor games."

Two releases on the same day. Is he nervous? "What's the point of being nervous? It's done and gone. It's not like a stage performance where I can improve on the performance. Mumbai Meri Jaan and Maan Gaye Mughall-e-Azam are two very different films. Am I proud of both films? I'm happy with both films. I was proud of a few of my three scenes in Shaurya as well."